Tucson for Xmas

Two thousand miles from Moscow, Idaho, in Tucson, Arizona for a holiday week with the family. Enjoying good food, stimulating company, fitness classes and relaxing spa treatments at Canyon Ranch. Today, in the crisp sunshine, John and I walked Sabino Canyon. Here are some pix.

 Happy holidays, everyone!

 This is one of nine stone bridges that cross the canyon creek. 

The bridges were a WPA project.

 All of the water running in the canyon comes from melting snow or rain.

 Gneiss rock formations in the streambed.

Waking to Snow

It's been snowing all night. Waking up to a beautiful winter wonderland outside my bedroom window:

Plows began their work on the sidewalks as soon as the sun was up...

But the trees remain like sugar-coated candy against the sky.

Walking Home from Class

So pretty in Moscow on an early November afternoon. No snow yet.

Fall Afternoon at the Arboretum

Latah Trail

Moscow is on a 22-mile paved bike trail that runs between Pullman, Washington, and Troy, Idaho, through wheat fields and low forests. John rides the trail regularly, but it's also a great place to walk. Here are a few pix from a recent outing.

Fall Color in Moscow

Birthday Trip to Montana

We spent a partly rainy but otherwise wonderful two days in Montana this weekend to celebrate my birthday. It began on Friday with a drive via Coeur d'Alene, where we stopped for a delicious lunch at Scratch (the most amazing tomato bisque!) Friday night was spent in Missoula with Jere, Jodi and Rob, seeing Jere's production of Elephant Man at the university, preceded and followed by lots of wining and dining. Jere's a great host, and we had a blast!

On Saturday, we drove through some breathtaking country in the Bitterroot Mountain Range.

We drove along an empty road north of I-90 along the North Fork River, where we hope to return to do some trout fishing.

Here's John at Quinn's Hot Springs. These are natural hot sulfur pools that feel great at 106 degrees when the air temp is closer to 50. 

En route, we stopped alongside the road to greet the oncoming freight train and the conductor gave us a whistle as the engine passed by.

Can't wait to go back and explore more of this part of the country.

Idaho Barn in Sunshine

Stuffed peppers for lunch!

Look what happens when John stops going to North Dakota. In addition to working on his dissertation, he becomes a gourmet!

Spring Valley Reservoir

The closest fishing hole to Moscow, about a 20 minutes drive east of here.

Another sunny Saturday morning in Moscow

John is here now, and we spent a lazy Saturday morning in downtown Moscow, buying fresh local fruits and veggies, bread, cheese and wine. We sat in the sunshine and listened to a local bluegrass band, chatted with UI friends and perused the Wine Company for a zesty Zinfandel. After an awesome yet challenging week of hard work on Dora, it was great to take some time to enjoy the outdoors (and each other).

Saturday at Moscow Farmers' Market

Downtown Moscow is the place to be on Saturday mornings for the Moscow Farmers' Market, which features an abundance of locally grown fruits and vegetables, locally made ceramics, wood crafts, textiles, soaps and lotions, and artisan foods, such as hand-crafted breads, cheeses and ice cream. Also to be found there on this sunny August morning: music, families, dogs, people, strollers, bikes, backpacks, gossip, and, today, me.

Kamiak Butte, the Palouse and Lentilfest in Pullman

Today was yet another busy day here on the Palouse trying to keep up with Hannah's energetic spirit. Here we are hiking up Kamiak Butte. She doesn't even look tired.

People are asking, "What is the Palouse?" Apparently the land was shaped after the last Ice Age when the sediment left by melting glaciers and massive amounts of water were blown by local winds to form rolling hills that are rich in nutrients and perfect for farming. As you can see below, we had a great view of the Palouse from the crestline of the butte. The golden fields are wheat, and the green-yellow fields are garbanzo beans.

Pullman, Washington, just across the state line and eight miles from Moscow, is also a farming region, known for its production of lentils. Lentils first were introduced to the region in 1916 by a Seventh Day Adventist farmer to promote the health benefits of eating legumes. In the year 2000, the Palouse produced 98 percent of the nation's lentils.

To end our day today, we attended the annual National Lentilfest in Pullman, where the locals served 350 gallons of free lentil chili from a giant vat.

Tomorrow, it's off to Main Street Moscow for the Saturday Farmer's Market!

Hells Canyon Outing

So much fun today! Drove to Lewiston/Clarkston area (yes, named after Lewis and Clark). The first part of the ride is through hundreds of beautiful, wheat-covered hills on the Palouse. Then we dropped down into Lewis/Clark Canyon, which is essentially a giant river gorge created by the Snake and Clearwater rivers (something to do with glaciers, too).

Drove about 30 miles downriver to see stunning rock formations and 4,500-year-old petroglyphs at Buffalo Eddy.

And then to cool off, a climb down the banks of the Snake River for a refreshing swim and snack on the beach.

Finished the day with dinner at Black Cypress in Pullman.

Taylor Street Apartments

Here are just a few quick images to show you where we're living. I want to post these pictures from a warm sunny day, as I suspect that the view won't look nearly as inviting come winter. Here's what we saw out our bedroom window when we woke up this morning. What you don't see much is the very leafy tree just to the right of this view. The cats love sitting on the windowsill, listening to the birds in that tree and watching the world go by. Weather is in the 60s -- very pleasant.

The kitchen is pretty big, although plain. We're going to hang our original "Ma" watercolor of the chicken on the empty wall space above the sink.

After stocking up at the bulk bins (food is really inexpensive here)...

It's so nice to actually have a mirrored dresser. And a new plush mattress. The rooms are all light and airy, which makes the apartment look great.

Moscow, Day 1

We've arrived! Moved into the apartment today. It's simple, clean and in a nice complex filled with bicycles and strollers and tiny children. No late-night partying on this part of campus.

After retrieving our apartment key, paperwork and parking pass, we moved in while the furniture was delivered. All looks/fits well except for the living room. We had to return all of the seating that we had ordered for that room because the room is so tiny. But we re-ordered more a more modest sofa and coffee table and a washer/dryer, which will be delivered on Friday.

After a quick stop for a shower curtain, we had a lovely dinner on the patio at Nectar, then a quick stop at Moscow food co-op for morning groceries. Computers are all hooked up now, so it's time to rest up for my first "Dora" meeting tomorrow morning. By the way, Hannah took the photo of the Palouse out her bedroom window.

On the Road to Moscow

With a U-Haul in tow and two cats and Hannah in the back seat of our new truck, we headed north on the road to Moscow, Idaho. We expected a lot of meowing and complaining on this first day out, but surprisingly heard none of either. Everyone was well behaved, if not always happy to be cooped up for 8 hours. Spent the night in Sacramento and ate take-out Chinese food. Cats happily ran around the hotel room and sniffed the carpets and played around all night as we pondered our next move. We abandoned plans to head northeast across Nevada because we're getting pretty poor mileage with the U-Haul, the back desert roads are too hot, and we run too great a risk of running out of gas between towns. Instead, this morning, we're sticking to I-5 north to Portland, Oregon. From there, we'll take the Columbia River Gorge byways to Idaho. It's a prettier drive anyway, even though it will be a little longer in the end. More soon...

Almost Gone

This is our final week in San Diego for a while, as we're heading to Idaho for a few months. A little east, mostly north, definitely colder, an important transition to where ever it is we are going in the future. Boxes are packed, new truck has been purchased, cats are becoming adjusted to their travel cage, good-bye dinners are being shared with family and friends, and the whole house is abuzz with excitement (and some trepidation). We'll be back here in good measure, but I'm planning to start up a new blog to chronicle our adventures with the production of Adoration of Dora. I'll continue to post general travel pix and tales here as we explore the Palouse and neighboring cities, towns and byways of the Pacific Northwest. Love to all.

Summer in San Diego

Twiddling my toes for the next six weeks of summer. Kinda nice to slow way down.